In addition to my anticipation over the upcoming release of Lucky Peach, the iPad app and print journal from chef David Chang and writer Peter Meehan, I’m excited to read more about Chang’s first expansion projects outside of New York. After skyrocketing to recognition with his five signature restaurants in Manhattan, the award-winning chef is in the planning stages for new locations in both Sydney and Toronto over the next two years.
The first location set to open will be a 30-seat eatery Down Under, named Seiobo, which will be located …

Phew! And we’re back to news…
Prior to Green Bay’s well-played win at Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV, Nation’s Restaurant News reported that while spots in last year’s advertising lineup were popular with some heavier hitters in food service, none of the usual suspects bought space for this year’s Super Bowl. In an article late last week, it was a notable change to from last year’s advertisers that included national food brands like Papa John’s, Denny’s, and Taco Bell, with this year’s $3M-per-30-second bottom line detouring many. Pizza delivery chain Papa John’s …

A hat tip to Eater for snagging the video of chef David Chang’s visit to the Late Show with David Letterman last night. The chef talks about his foray into the food world, noting that his father, already in the business, wasn’t too thrilled when Chang announced his culinary career plans.
“It’s weird because he wanted me to do better in school, and this is where I ended up for not doing better in school.”
Trying to pay attention while Chang explains the art of cooking mussels and the beauty of ramps, …

Fine, fine, I admit it. I don’t cook. The cookbooks on my shelves are either signed by people I admire or misdirected Christmas gifts from well-meaning folks who didn’t know my true side. I can do the basics – grilled cheese, meatloaf, maybe a pie. I just tend to leave the big stuff to the pros. Does that make me any less of a foodie? I think not.
Tired of giving (or getting) cookbooks? Here are five foodie-flavored gifts on the top of my Christmas list this year.
1) A little bit …

Strolling into a West Seattle restaurant on a dreary November afternoon, the man himself enters nearly unnoticed. Revered in writeups and showered with culinary awards, Chef David Chang remains a humble cook, without entourage, without fanfare, and generally in a friendly state. All despite his rock star status.
Local journalists and food writers trail in one by one for the media reception, while glasses of prosecco and lychee are passed about. Chang shifts uneasily from one foot to the other in his black Converse, the glass of water in his hand …

Chef David Chang’s Má Pêche, the much-ballyhooed fifth location for the Momofuku chef, is slowly offering peeks at what the famed chef has in store. Taking a spot at the midtown, nearly renovated Chambers Hotel, the new space will have a variety of duties, including, but not limited to, room service for hotel guests. Serious Eats’ Ed Levine stopped in for lunch and a look at the food offerings from Executive Chef Tien Ho. Levine’s notes are positive, which only increases anticipation for the full opening in early 2010.
“For lunch …

Yayhoo! It’s finally fall! As we head into this holiday weekend, I’m thinking football, comfort food, and fabulous upcoming foodie events. This season, I’ll have a chance to talk with some of the best in the industry!
Here are the five food events I’m looking forward to the most:
1) Tomorrow’s “F is for Food” event with Chefs Tom Douglas and Kathleen Flinn. As part of this weekend’s Bumbershoot, Seattle’s major music and arts fest, Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry, and chef/restaurateur Tom Douglas will …

A lot of news on celeb/master chefs moving into new locations! Out of the New York Times, French chef Alain Ducasse is heading up a new spot at the W Retreat & Spa in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, opening in November. According to the article, the restaurant will be named Mix on the Beach, and will incorporate Caribbean and Mediterranean influences. Ducasse joins other great …

How much do I love Chef Ming Tsai? Just a little. The good looks? The great sense of humor? The love of all things in an Asian kitchen? I like it all. With his Simply Ming nominated for two Daytime Emmys this year (Outstanding Culinary Program and Outstanding Culinary Host) I’m obviously not the only one.
Thanks to his fabulous publicist, and the alignment of the stars, I had a chance to chat with Chef Tsai while we were both at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this past weekend. …

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen was the Best New Chefs dinner (which, was really more hors d’oeuvres, and less dinner, but who’s counting, right?). What a fabulous night at the Aspen Meadows Resort – and what fabulous food and drink all around! The night started off with a few cocktails from festival sponsors Grey Goose and Beringer as guests mingled from floor to floor, tasting the offerings from the ten Food & Wine Best New Chefs of 2009. Special Guest Chef for the …

Last week’s Fast Company offered up a list of the ten most creative folks in food – and it’s an interesting list. They’re not all chefs, necessarily, and I’m not sure they’re the *most* creative in the bunch (I agree with one commenter – where’s Ferran Adrià in the list?) but it’s certainly a list up for discussion.
Their top ten?
1. Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean-Georges Management
2. Dan Barber, Blue Hill restaurants
3. Will Allen, Growing Power
4. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lispitz, Magical Elves Productions
5. Floyd Zaiger, Zaiger Genetics
6. Ed Kaczmarek, Kraft
7. Temple Grandin, …

Posted by Jennifer Heigl

Author Frank Bruni has a great post today on his New York Times blog, Diner’s Journal, commenting on the recent move of many restaurants to begin charging for their ‘extras’, namely the standard bread and butter.
It seems many diners have a problem with being charged for items that were previously complimentary, so Bruni tries to take an alternate view, suggesting that more restaurants charge for bread and other assortments. He offers that perhaps, with charging for such items, you’d receive a higher quality of item, rather than …

Incase you missed it last month when the Amateur Gourmet, Adam Roberts, reviewed the rationale of “dress codes”, putting attention onto the decorum of Upper East Side illuminati, specifically, Les Bernardin, the question erupted pontification from around the blogsphere.
Last week, in foil of pacification, Frank Bruni finally offered a retort on the matter, setting momentum again to the great Suit and Tie Debate of 2008.
For clarification on what spawned this wardrobe discussion, we have to go back to a kinder, simpler time.  Take us back to May 29, 2008. 
It was then when AG …

This past weekend, the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado took place. The star-studded event, which is now in its 26th year, included culinary guests from across the country including David Chang of NYC’s Momofuku, Top Chef Season 3 winner Hung Huynh, celebrity chef Ming Tsai, and restaurateur Danny Meyer. The Food & Wine Classic also continued to support efforts to raise funds and awareness of Grow for Good, a national initiative dedicated to supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture.
Couldn’t make it to Aspen? Don’t fret! Food …